A new study by the Abell Foundation links bad diets to bad behavior.

As reported by The Baltimore Sun's Meredith Cohn today, some public health experts are urging supplying children with vitamins and other nutritional supplements to increase learning and curb violence:

If it's proven that a tablet a day can tick up test scores and dial down violence, it could be a cheaper and easier means of improving a lot of young lives than costly and labor-intensive treatments, according to the Abell Foundation, which wants to determine whether a Baltimore study would be worthwhile.

"We wanted to see what the scientific view was at this point in time," said Robert C. Embry Jr., foundation president. "It seemed like there was something there worth exploring."

Embry passed the latest data on the issue to the Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, where a team will be assembled in the fall to consider the scientific studies and the outlines of a possible study, perhaps in city schools.

Here is the report: